The Crown Of Tears

"Isn't it enough that you already snatched my world from me, now you want this too?" Angelus snapped.

He raced over to her and harshly ripped the hairpin from her hair. "Aah," Princess Rose groaned in pain as he grabbed her hair in the process.

"What are you doing?" asked Princess Rose.

"Get out!"

"What is wrong with you, Angelus?"

"Get out, Rose!" Prince Angelus shoved her by the shoulder. "Before I forget that you are my sister and do something bad to you. Get out!"

"Angelus, you are crossing your limits," Princess Rose fired back.

"Keep standing in my room with your husband and you'll learn what it means when I cross my limits," he threatened, his eyes darkened as he gritted his teeth in anger.

"I came here to cheer you up..."

"Oh great soul, do me a favor and get lost from my sight. I don't ever want to see you or your husband again, "Prince Angelus stated angrily.

Princess Rose was thrown aback. Her brother has never taken such a tone with her in their life. No matter their differences, Prince Angelus always showered her with love and respect.

She instinctively stepped back from him. Her heart was breaking apart with the harsh treatment she received from her brother.

"Have I wronged you brother?"

"Your entire existence has wronged me," Angelus lashed out.

"Your Highness, you're being very rude," Gael stepped in between them. "Your sister means well to you."

"She can take her regards and shove them down her throat for all I care," Angelus refused to back down.

Prince Angelus used his right hand to grip his upper left arm to restrain himself from getting physical. It was killing him to watch Gael stand up for Rose.

"Angelus!" Gael barked out his name. "Rose, can you give us a minute? I need to speak to your brother about his manners."

Princess Rose fixed her hair and stepped back. She took in her brother's mood and drank it in like fine wine. Rose suspected something was amiss when her mother guilted her into marrying Gael.

From servant gossip, she learned of the conspiracies that went down before her arrival. She couldn't pinpoint what connection existed between Gael and her brother, but watching their union offended Angelus greatly, and she intended to get to the bottom of the matter.

Princess Rose refused to be a pawn to be used in palace politics. Her mother owed her some explanations. "I'll let you handle it. I need to have a word with my mother," she uttered.

Silence enveloped the room as her click-clacking boots echoed on her way out. Gael and Angelus watched her retreating figure with conflicting emotions.

"That's not how you speak to your sister. She worries for you," Gael scolded Angelus when Rose closed the door behind her.

"Do you also worry for me?" Angelus fired back with a question.

"I did all this because I worry about you. The world won't react kindly to your sexuality, your highness," Gael spoke up. "You are a prince, the people expect you to marry and produce heirs. They will shun you and have you beheaded for your inclinations."

"Those that dare not grasp the thorn shouldn't crave the rose," Prince Angelus uttered. "I'd face all the challenges of my love for you with my head held high..."

"I'm married to your sister, and I'll spend the rest of my life fulfilling my vow to her."

"I wish you were mine...every fucking day, I wish you were mine...every single day, Gael," Angelus cried.

He had a million questions for Gael. Angelus wished to know why Gael cast him aside without giving his love a chance. The man threw him away like discardable trash. Unfortunately, he didn't dare to raise any of his questions.

"I'd imagined what it would be like to kiss you," he claimed, "The kiss would be so good that it'd leave no room to imagine what it means to be kissed by someone else."

Gael was speechless. He was short of words to express how sorry he was that things went down the way they did.

However, he couldn't reciprocate Angelus's feelings for him. He didn't fancy men or have any sort of attraction towards Prince Angelus.

Prince Angelus was stubborn and refused to understand him. Gael feared taking drastic measures and marrying Princess Rose was the only way that Angelus would understand his stance and his preference.

"I've wanted to kiss you since the first time I met you...god, I wanna kiss you so bad...so..so bad," he let out in frustration.

"Is that what it'll take?"

Prince Angelus blinked at Gael in confusion. His mind was blank of what Gael insinuated by his question.

"A kiss...is that what it'll take for you to let me go?" Gael asked sensing Angelus's confusion.

Angelus tilted his head to the side. The idea sounded tempting but he doubted it would give him closure.

His love for Gael is deeply rooted in his heart. The first man he met that made him question everything. Angelus closed his eyes and ran his hand over his hair.

"What are you..." He sighed heavily.

"If I kiss you, do you promise to let go of your feelings for me and move on?" Gael asked.

Gael nervously played with his fingers. He feared he was biting more than he could swallow. Kissing a man wasn't something he ever pictured himself doing, and neither was cheating Princess Rose.

But he needed the chapter of Prince Angelus's obsession with him to be over. The only way to ensure that he isn't dragged through the mud in a scandal is to make a deal with Angelus.

"Are you crazy? How can I...How do you expect..."

Angelus was at a loss for words. His heart didn't have an on or off switch he could flip to get over his feelings for someone. The nerve of Gael to think so lowly of his feelings wounded his heart.

"Yes, if you kiss me, I'll let you go and forget you," Angelus gave in, to get the kiss out of the way and forget Gael.

The man disregarded his feelings and insulted him by insinuating the feelings he had could fade away instantly as though they weren't true.

Prince Angelus didn't want to love a man who didn't respect his feelings. So the deal worked out well for him too.

"Deal?"

Prince Angelus shook his hand to seal the deal. The wine was easier to swallow than the fact that he'd lost.

Gael moves his hand to cup the back of Angelus's head; he draws him closer until his lips brush against the prince's lips.

He sweeps his tongue over the seam of Angelus's lips, demanding access, Angelus easily grants it, letting him claim his mouth in the heat of the moment.

Angelus shivers at his touch. "Gael," he moans between the kiss.

Angelus's body starts to heat up as he moans Gael's name. Every inch of him craved more of Gael. Angelus shudders as he feels Gael's breath caress his face.

He reacts instantly, gripping Gael's shoulders as the kiss deepens. His anger fades away as he melts in Gael's arms.